Entertainment Blogs

An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue.

New Exchanges at MIAD

The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design has tried to do something exceedingly hard -- to create connections between a sometimes compartmentalized art world. It staged an art show designed to open new channels of communication between its students, local galleries, arts institutions, art critics, artists, curators and the general public. »Read Full Blog Post

While we strive for a lively and vigorous debate of the issues, we do not tolerate name calling, foul language or other inappropriate behavior. Please see our discussion guidelines and terms of use for more information.

While we do our best to moderate comments, we do not screen comments before they are posted. If you see a comment that violates our guidelines, please use the "Report Abuse" link to notify us of the issue.

I think the internet - online commenting - is a democratic tool that absolutely should be taken advantage of for this kind of discourse. I doubt that hosting exchanges about this ONLY in precious places like art schools (though it's critical for something about it to be addressed there, too), galleries, and museums - where the same however many handfuls of people are likely to show up for everything - can break a whole lot of ground. Obviously, there are plenty of limits to what online stuff can pull off, as well. Maybe it's the same however many handfuls of people that read, for example, Mary Louise's blog here. But at least (JSOnline be willing, amen) the discussion sits here as a document for the casual perusal of anyone, anytime. Art City might be an even more public forum than a live event, I don't know ... its definitely more so than Facebook, in my opinion.

I missed the New Exchanges thing at MIAD, so I can't really add anything to that at all. All apologies. I think it was a good idea, though. Good luck, folks over there!

However, I agree with Mary Louise's assessment of criticism. Column writers above the line, rabble below. Hardly matters anyway ... people can write their own criticisms below it. It might get moderated (I can't really tell how much that happens), but they can always start their own blog if they feel censored.

Thanks for your comments Chris. MIAD did create a hash tag on Twitter for the exhibit (#newexchanges), which also serves as an aspect of the dialogue around the event.

Fostering a meaningful dialogue online is a lot of work, and there's always a danger that it can devolve. With the Powhida and Dalton event that I mention above, I think they saw to it that some people would "live tweet" the events from the gallery, so the larger art world could listen in, so to speak. That is how I got roped into what was going on in the Winkleman Gallery for #class. I think that kind of seeding of the dialogue, of ensuring certain parties are engaged and/or leading the discussion is essential.

In Milwaukee, we've seen the art community behave like a cohesive community online on some occasions, usually when there is a public art-related controversy. In those moments, various bloggers and publications respond to one another, link to one another, and we get a wide ranging dialogue that exists across many platforms, large and small. We're all sharing our audiences with one another, and so on. It's really nice to see -- but rare. The question is how can we breed that kind of interest in dialogue when a controversy isn't flaring up? Is that even possible?

I do think the "rabble" below the line matters a lot. And you'd be amazed that the impact that even one or two people can have on creating civility and substance in a discussion. At Art City, I do try to bring other voices "above the line" too. This is so important. There are now 20 people who are part of the community of writers/contributors to this blog. You don't always see all of their names, but they are engaged behind-the-scenes, too. For instance, last Saturday, a whole group of us went to "New Exchanges" together and discussed it over coffee and donuts. Their opinions certainly influenced my review.

"Fostering a meaningful dialogue online is a lot of work, and there's always a danger that it can devolve."

Ha! Nicely understated. Those rodeos get ugly when the bulls break loose ... not too constructive most of the time. I imagine it's not easy keeping such things open enough to matter without turning tragic. i don't envy the job. I agree on all your points up there, Mary Louise -- well said.I'm not sure how to breed interest in the dialogue when a controversy isn't there, but something like that needs to happen for art to have a more stable and substantial slice of the public's attention. My guess is that it'll take a long while before a broader public talks about art as casually as they do about music and movies. I guess I think 'casual' is the key ingredient. Refinement follows naturally (maybe?). And patience. I don't know ... maybe someday, if people easily see that the art world itself isn't such a totally alien world (and holds a variety of different opinions within itself, without exploding/imploding/having an earth-shattering crisis of confidence), they'll feel more comfortable with having a stake in it themselves. I'm not saying artists need to give up all their secrets or bend over backwards. That's patronizing, and dumbing down is a drag on content. Just that some things happen in the sunlight from time to time.

People shouldn't think it's a thing they can literally hold their breath for, probably (they'll just pass out and start breathing again, it'll happen every time). Fake it 'til you make it? That's corny, but what else is there to do I guess. That's my opinion, at least. Cheers!

I think artists and art professionals should ditch the artspeak whenever humanly possible. That's a huge barrier. Art can be really hard to talk about sometimes. Some of it can be really complicated, tons of weird flavors in it (not a bad thing!). But I think 75-95% - that's an unverifiable statistic, I made it up - of the time there is another way to say it. Maybe a thesaurus in the back pocket would be a good investment for some artists? Just to shake it up a little.

The "New Exchange" exhibition at MIAD seems to do exactly what the title suggests, request, and demands. Does MIAD manufacture some of the worlds finest creative professionals? I would say "Damn straight!" MIAD's graduates have the capacity, capability, and are professionally equipped to manipulate any necessary raw materials needed to sustain, (the phrase Mary Louise coined during a group discussion)...The Creative Ecosystem. You know, the Creative Economy peeps. Speaking as a Small Business owner, I appreciate the "New Exchange" experience and the dialog that will follow. So... I've been told for most of my life that there is something strange about my eyes but this is what I saw as I experienced the "New Exchange". Including but not Exclusive to; Color, Strategizing, Composition, Activity Based Costing, Line, Value Chain, Gesture, Business Intelligence, Hue, Process Hierarchy, Aesthetics, Outsourcing, Tone, Manufacturing, Perspective, Value Stream Mapping, Dimension, Distribution Streams, Shape, Competitive Advantage, Structure, Feedback, Craftsmanship, Patterns, Junction Bar, Texture, and Positioning.Now quoting the closing scene from the film "The Aviator" in which Howard Hues, played by the actor Leonardo DiCaprio, while looking in a mirror repeatedly saying, "Its the way of the future, Its the way of the future, Its the way of he future, Its the way of the future."But then again, for the most part, I do not trust my own eyes and what they sometimes see. Therefore you should go to the "New Exchange" at MIAD and see for yourself, and have your own new exchange in your brain to talk about.Thats a Rap...Go MIAD, Go to the "New Exchange", Go MKE, Go Packers. Reg

E-mail Newsletter

Keep up with the art scene and trends in urban design with art and architecture critic Mary Louise Schumacher. Every week, you'll get the latest reviews, musings on architecture and her picks for what to do on the weekends.